


This Life is Crazy

by residentdelinquent



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: F/M, M/M, characters added as I think of them, same thing with pairings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-11
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-12 16:06:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2116143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/residentdelinquent/pseuds/residentdelinquent
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the movie Yeh Jawaani He Diwani. Sakura has spent her entire life focusing on becoming a doctor until she decides to go on a trek. Alfred has done everything for his dream and this trek is just the first step. Neither realize what they have before going their separate ways. They meet years later at a friend's wedding. What will happen now? Partial Nyotalia.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I own none of this stuff and I have taken liberty with the movie however a lot of moments will have ties back to the original story.

Sakura was never one to take many risks. That was probably why she couldn't believe she just had done this…

It all started when she had met Julia Belischmidt at the store with her mother Chun-Yan. Julia had been an old classmate who was planning on hiking through the Rockies with some friends.

That night, at dinner, her mother had been complaining about Julia's attitude, saying how disrespectful she was and how Julia was going to go nowhere in life unlike Sakura who was studying to be a doctor.

Sakura's younger siblings, Mei, Yong-Soo, and Leon snickered at their mother's ranting.

Sakura was fully fed up. She had dealt with her mother's attitude for as long as she lived and she was jealous of how Julia could live her life instead of being stifled and stuck studying all the time.

Sakura knew she wanted to become a doctor but all she ever did was study and she was tired of that.

She ended up telling her mother just that before pushing her food away and going to her room.

* * *

Alfred quietly made into his house. He entered through back door which led into the kitchen. He realized he was hungry so he got a piece of French bread from the refrigerator.

"So finally home, mon fils."

Al spun around to look at his dad. He sighed,

"Papa, what are you still doing up? You should be sleeping."

Francis fixed his gaze on his only child,

"I was just up reading for a little bit."

"You mean you were up worrying."

Al knew his father was the type of person who stayed up until he was sure his son was safe.

Francis didn't reply. Instead, he picked up a travel packet.

"When were you planning on telling me that you were going on a trek through the Rockies instead of hiking in the Bay Area like you said you were going to?"

"Probably never."

Al's stepfather, Arthur, entered the living room where Al and Francis had moved into while talking. In Arthur's hand, was a tray of tea.

"Hello to you too, Stepfather."

The sarcasm in Al's voice was unmistakable. Al sat down on the couch next to his father's favorite armchair while Francis sat on the loveseat across from him. Arthur put down the tray he was carrying on the coffee table before squeezing himself next to Francis.

Arthur looked at his stepson once before pouring all three of them a cup of tea.

Al took a sip and then scowled.

"This tea is horrible by the way."

Arthur ignored this because he had become used to Al's comments about his tea while Francis frowned at his son's disrespect.

"You do realize that we don't have as much money as your friends' families and this trip to the Rockies is outside of our price range," explained Arthur with a soft voice.

Francis chimed in with,

"Yes, and I will worry too much about my son to be okay with you going. Also, it is not like you are going to die if you do not go, oui?"

Al stood up and started pacing back and forth.

"That's just it. I need to go on this trip. I never leave California. It's always the same old places. I want to travel the world. Not just stay here in San Francisco the entire time."

"There's still the issue of money," reminded Arthur.

"Don't worry. I've saved up for this trip. You guys won't have to pay a cent."

Francis exhaled heavily,

"Fine you can go."

"Thank you so much Papa. I love you!"

Al was ecstatic as he hugged and kissed his Papa on the cheeks. He even did the same to Arthur because of how good of a mood he was in.

* * *

Sakura was studying, when she noticed that she still had the packet that Julia had left behind.

Thinking about it, a trip to the Rockies didn't sound too bad. It might help her relax and maybe even help her figure out what to do next with her life.

Sakura looked through the packet before turning on her old desktop. The computer was given to her after she entered college and her mother decided she deserved one.

She went to the website and signed up for the trip. Sakura wasn't sure what she had done but she at least she had done something.

* * *

When Chun-Yan woke up that morning, she had no idea what her eldest child had done.

She had honestly thought it was going to be a normal morning.

Chun-Yan yawned as she entered the dining area. Two of her children, Leon and Yong-Soo, were sparing in the backyard while her younger daughter, Mei, was setting the table for breakfast.

She immediately noticed that Sakura was not making breakfast like she usually did.

"Where is your sister?"

Leon and Yong-Soo stopped their spar and exchanged glances before shrugging. Mei squeaked in surprise before giving her mother a shaky smile.

"Good morning Mama. Did you sleep well?"

"Stop avoiding the question Mei."

Mei look increasingly scared and Yong-Soo avoided looking at her. It was Leon who ended up answering in his usual monotone voice.

"She wasn't in her room this morning and she left you a letter on the dining table. None of us have taken a look at it yet. Thought it would be best to wait until you came down. Can we hurry this up? I have to go bug…I mean talk to Emil later."

Chun Yan sighed heavily. Her youngest son would never change but at least he wasn't too afraid to answer her questions unlike Mei and Yong-Soo. He took after Sakura in that manner even if he was more disrespectful than his eldest sister.

She picked up the letter sitting on the table mat where Sakura usually sat.

Chun Yan read the letter out loud. It stated:

_Dear Mama,_

_Please don't be angry. I will continue my studies but I needed a change of pace. I've decided that before I settle down for good, I should have an adventure and that is what I've gone to do. Don't worry. I'll stay safe and come home soon as I am done._

_Love,_

_Sakura_

"Well I guess Sakura Nee-San finally had her rebellious phase," Leon said in his deadpan voice.

Mei frowned at him while shooting a cautious look at their mother, "Shut up Leon."

"I hope she brings back souvenirs," murmured Yong-Soo.

"My baby girl is finally growing up. I'm so proud of her. I was just waiting until she did something like this. This way she'll get it out of her system."

Chun Yan smiled. She had been expecting that something like this would happen. After all she had been very much the same at Sakura's age. She then noticed her other children gawking out her.

"Shut your mouth children. I don't need to see your tongues this early in the morning."

**End Part 1**

* * *

Sakura - Nyo Japan

Chun-Yan - Nyo China

Mei - Taiwan

Yong Soo - South Korea

Leon - Hong Kong

Alfred - America

Francis - France

Arthur - England

Julia Belischmidt - Nyo Prussia


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The adventure is just starting. In other words, they haven't exactly started yet but a lot of important stuff happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took forever and is 8 pages long in Word. Freaks me out.

Matthias watched nervously as the San Francisco 49ers lost their game against the Oakland Raiders.

If they lost he wouldn’t be able to go on this trip.

He had been the idiot who made a bet with his older brother that if the 49ers lost, Berwald wouldn’t have to pay for the trip.

Matthias bit his lip with frustration when suddenly…

"Boo!"

Matthias jumped before turning to glare at Julia in her full albino glory.

She grinned at his disgruntled look while he tried to calm his heart from the scare.

"God Julchen, must you do that. It totally freaked me out and I can’t take any more excitement."

"It's just revenge for the fact that you forgot to drive me to the bus station like you promised. I had to get Luddy to drive me and he was a total stick in the mud about it."

"Whatever. I don't think I'm going on this trip anyways."

"What are you talking about Matthias?"

Matthias and Julia and turned to look at Al who had come up behind them.

Matthias sighed,

"I made a bet with Berwald that if the 49ers lost he didn't have to pay for this trip and knowing him, he probably won't. He's saving up money so he can propose to the love of his life."

Julia and Al grimaced at the mention of love before Al's face became thoughtful.

"I'll pay for you this time and you pay me back afterwards. I need something to do with my savings as it is."

"I can't do that. It's unawesome to leech off a friend like that and goes against our awesome code."

Julia was nodding along with Matthias while Al rolled his eyes.

"I'm not really going to do anything with the money as it is and money exists to be spent. I think it's awesome to help an equally awesome friend go on an awesome adventure."

Matthias still seemed unsure and looked at Julia for help but she just shrugged as she ran her hands through her shoulder length hair in a nervous manner. She really hoped Matthias agreed but it was no guarantees especially since his 'manly' pride may get in the way.

Matthias ruffled his spiky blond hair before he sighed,

"Fine but I'll pay you back as soon as we move in together."

"Yeah sure, now let's go."

* * *

"Hello.  My name is Jett and I will be your guide on this trip.  Now if you haven't already read the itinerary; here is our plan for the next few weeks.

We'll start by taking the bus to Inyo National Forest, which is where this trek will start.  We'll hike and camp in the forest for about three days there before getting back on the bus but before all that we'll spend a night in a hotel that’s been booked already and start in the morning.

We'll drive to Death Valley and spend a day there though most of it will be indoors because we don't want anyone to die out there.

Afterwards, we've decided to be nice and let you spend two days in Las Vegas where I recommend you do laundry and pick up any extra supplies you might need.

We'll then spend about a week at the Grand Canyon.  You guys will have a bit more freedom there but the only time you'll be allowed to go down into the Canyon, it will be with a guide.

Afterwards we'll stop in Santa Fe to visit a few sites but I'll let you all try to guess what they are.  This will be another chance to take care of business.

Next will be us climbing to the top of Pike’s Peak then we'll have our surprise spot which I'll tell you about in Santa Fe so you can get ready for it.

The last step will be to get to Denver and take a flight back home.  All in all, just follow the rules and everything will be great."

* * *

Sakura rushed to the bus station in hopes that she wasn't too late. It was nerve wracking to say the least.

In fact, Sakura was so focused on her anxiety that she didn't notice the person in front of her.  Thankfully, just before she bumped into him, he caught her.

Sakura looked up to see deep blue eyes looking down at her in amusement.

Heat crept up her face as she straightened herself out. She definitely recognized him even if she hadn't seen him since high school.

The man in front of her looked at her curiously,

"Hey don't I know you from somewhere?"

Sakura beamed but her smile fell when he started naming other people he had met.

"Sakura Honda, Hetalia High School. We were in the same home room for four years. And you're Alfred Jones."

Alfred's face lit up and he exclaimed,

"Weirdo Sakura who always had her nose in a book. Oh and just call me Al"

Sakura just nodded even though she felt a bit like crying. It was sad that all people remembered of her was that she was an otaku. She still was one but she wasn't that much of a recluse was she?

At that moment a brunet with bright green eyes with a smile on his face walked up to them. His smile was a subdued and for a good reason.

"Sakura right. I'm Jett, the guide. I want to apologize. I'm not sure if you'll be able to go on this trip because there aren't enough hotel rooms because your reservation so last minute."

Sakura was about to beg saying she would even sleep on the floor just to go on this trip when Al decided to remind Jett and Sakura of his presence.

"She can just join my group. She can share a bed with Julchen. We have room for one more since four's the max."

Sakura was shocked that he would do this for her but if it meant she could go on this trip then she had no intention to question her good fortune even if four was an unlucky number.

* * *

Julia stared at Sakura from her seat next to her.

"Are you sure you're not stalking me?"

Sakura blushed as she shook her head furiously in an attempt to deny Julia’s accusation of being a stalker.

Julia laughed at Sakura's reaction,

"That's the funniest thing I've seen all day. Your reaction is even funnier than what I did to my brother in the morning. Anyways, I was just joking so no need to freak out like that."

Sakura's blush deepened as she mumbled,

"I'm not used to this. I've always been like a second mother to my siblings so I've never really been teased."

Al, Matthias, Julia looked a bit shocked but didn't question her further. After all they all understood what it was like to have complicated family matters.

Al liked his stepfather well enough but at the same time he was still slightly bitter that the man had taken his mother's place in his father's life.

Matthias was lucky that his half-brother Berwald still cared about him even after their father had cheated on his wife with Matthias's mother.

Julia had lost her parents at a young age and the only family she had left was her younger brother and their grandfather who raised the two Germans.

Sakura's situation was that her mother had been widowed once by Sakura's father, divorced by Yong Soo's father, and had never married either Leon's or Mei's father.

As a single mother, she had done her best for her children but that usually meant that she was too busy running her multiple businesses. As the eldest, it was left to Sakura to watch over them. Especially when they were younger and their mother could not afford a babysitter.

* * *

Let's set the scene for late Friday night with a group of four people sitting in the lounge of their hotel.  These four people were Julia Belischmidt, Matthias Kohler, Alfred F. Jones, and Sakura Honda.

Julia, Matthias, and Alfred were playing a card game while Sakura was studying one of the medical textbooks she had brought along.

"Excuse me but do one of you happen to have a knife?"

They all looked up at the brunette bombshell at the door of lounge who held up an apple in her perfectly manicured hand.

"I'll go get you one!"

Matthias jumped up and would have gone and gotten one if it wasn’t for the fact that Julia had dragged him right back down before he could get anywhere.

He hissed at her,

"What was that for?"

"I know your type and while the body is totally your type, her personality really isn't. I know her type of girls. She's basically a girl version of Al's dad and you like ice queens."

This made Matthias stop and stare,

"Since when do you know my type?"

"I've been your friend since we were in Kindergarten. I think I should know your type, and Al's for that matter, by now."

While Matthias and Julia were having their whispered conversation, Al walked up to the girl.

She looked at him and pouted,

"I should have brought bananas instead."

"No need to worry about that. I have one for you right here."

Al, being the suave person he is, put his hand behind her ear and when his hand was in front of her face, he had a small pocket knife in his hand. (His father would be so proud of him.)

"Thank you so much. I really needed this. I can't stand eating apples unless they're in pieces."

Just as she reached up, Al moved the knife out of her reach. (The fact that he had a decent four inches on her had nothing to do with it.)

He smiled at her, "I'll give it to you after you give me your name. Also you're free to join us after you're done with my knife."

Her violet eyes widened for a moment before her smile turned flirtatious.

"Marianne and my friends and I would love to join you. Let me just go get them."

She turned around and left the room while Al watched her go. Julia and Matthias just rolled their eyes used to their friend's way while Sakura felt awkward and a little jealous of Marianne.

* * *

Marianne brought back her friends Isabella and Gilbert. Sakura was amused by their antics until Al suggested a game.

"You know what game we should play?"

The general response to that was,

"What?"

"Never Have I Ever."

Isabella and Gilbert seemed confused while Julia and Matthias groaned. Marianne however bounced up and down with excitement,

"I love Never Have I Ever. Oh we must play it. It'll be such fun."

Julia and Matthias exchanged looks before Matthias sighed,

"I'll go get the alcohol and cups. Julchen, you might as well explain how we play this game."

"Right, it's pretty simple. Whoever's turn it is says something they've never done. Everyone who has done it will have to drink out of their cups. The person who has anything left in their cup by the time everyone else is done wins and dies of embarrassment for being so sheltered."

Just as Julia finished Matthias re-entered the room with a bottle of wine and a stack of glasses. He also had a juice box in one hand.

He handed the juice box to Sakura.

"Here. You probably have never had alcohol so I got you something else to use."

_'Aiyah, all these westerners have no idea how much sake I drink.'_

Sakura was horrified by the thought because it showed just how much like her mother she was becoming.

Al misread the look,

"Don't worry. It'll be fun."

This caused Sakura to realize her usual blank face had slipped and that was never a good sign. After all, Sakura tried to never let it show how she felt because it meant that her younger brothers and sister might worry about her.

She calmed herself down,

"I'll agree to play this game but I am not entirely sure I really want to play for the entire game."

Marianne then proclaimed,

"I'll go first. Never have I ever been kicked out of anywhere."

Al, Julia, Matthias, and Gilbert all took a drink.

Julia shrugged,

"I beat up someone who groped me in a mall."

"We helped."

That easily explained Al, Julia, and Matthias so everyone turned to look at Gilbert.

"Bar fight and let's leave it at that."

Isabella then offered to go next,

"Never have I ever been caught sneaking out of my house."

At that everyone but Sakura and Isabella took a drink.

Sakura was really starting to feel uncomfortable but she was too afraid to say so because it seemed rude.

As the game continued, Sakura felt could feel shame at how little she had done. It showed her just how introverted she was and it scared her.

And then her turn came. She froze before giving her hostess smile (which she had perfected for her mother).

"I'm sorry. I don't think I can play this game anymore. Please forgive me."

She got up and practically ran out of the room. Al who had left to go get more drinks caught her as she tripped.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Sakura looked up into his blue eyes and for a moment she was tempted to let him know everything about how she was feeling. However she reminded herself that Al didn't care and probably never would.

She shook her head,

"Nothing's wrong. I just don't feel all that well so I'm going to go to the room and sleep."

He looked at her with worry but realized that she wouldn't answer his questions so he let her go.

That night, for the first time in a very long time, she cried herself to sleep.

**End Part 2**

* * *

Sakura - Nyo Japan

Alfred - America

Julia Belischmidt - Nyo Prussia

Matthias Kohler - Denmark

Marianne - Nyo France

Isabella - Nyo Spain

Gilbert - Prussia

**I would like to say that I do love France in all his forms but I felt Nyo France would be the best person to use as our complication. For people who've seen the movie, you may figure out who she's supposed to be. She'll show up again a few times but end game is definitely Ameripan.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love to know what you think so please share.


	3. Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip has started and a lot of things happen. Julchen and Sakura become closer and some pairings are hinted at that weren't there before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The author apologizes for taking so long to update but unfortunately she has not had a lot of time to work on this. She hopes that the chapter being so long makes up for it. The next chapter is in works but it probably won't be posted for a few months. Also, a huge thank you goes out to all the people who followed, favorited, reviewed, and read this story. This story is really important to her so it makes her happy to see that people like it.

Julchen was suitably impressed with the way Sakura was able to set up their tent and how she knew her way around the camp without instructions from Jett.

Julchen paused from their unpacking to stare at Sakura. It was a bit hard to believe that Sakura had experience with the outdoors but as people always say, seeing is believing.

"Where did you learn all of this? I can barely make a fire. Let alone set up a tent."

"Mama had all her kids become scouts so that we could learn useful things. She also took us camping trips a lot because she wanted us to get away from electronics and the like."

"Really? That sounds awesome. I wish my family was close enough to do things like that."

"It wasn't so much as us being close as it was Mama making sure to prepare us for every eventuality she could. She grew up in a very dangerous environment and she didn't want us to ever suffer the way she did."

"Hey Julchen, stop flirting with Sakura and go to sleep."

Julchen turned around and threw a pillow at the interloper.

"Shut up Al! I was just asking Sakura who taught her how to set up tents."

Al let out a low whistle.

"That's why the tent looks so nice. If you had set it up, it would look like it was about to fall. Good job Sakura. I should kiss you and ask you to take care of our Julchen because she obviously can't take care of herself in the great outdoors."

"Get out you idiot and stop flirting with Sakura. If you break her heart, I'll break you."

Al laughed as Julchen threw things at him to chase him out of the tent. She ran after him to make sure he wouldn't come back.

While this was happening, Sakura could feel her face become bright red from what Al had said to her. No one had ever wanted to kiss her. Even as a joke.

When Julchen came back to the tent, her hands were pulling at her hair in frustration. She noticed Sakura's faded blush and frowned slightly.

Julchen decided that she needed to actually talk to the girl and warn her about Al. And who knows? Maybe Julchen would finally make a friend with the same gender as her.

"Hey Sakura, do you want to gossip about boys?"

Sakura looked up in surprise. This trip really did have a lot of firsts for her.

Julchen had to be the first girl who wanted to talk about boys with her. Even Mei didn't want to talk to her older sister about boys. Her best friend Michelle was more than enough for Sakura's little sister.

Sakura quickly agreed. It would be nice to actually have a friend like Julchen.

"Of course but I would like to apologize beforehand because I've never had the chance to talk about boys with anyone."

Julchen sat down on her sleeping bag and turned to face Sakura.

"That’s okay. I've never talked about boys with a friend before either."

"Really? Also you consider me a friend?"

Sakura's surprise was plastered all over her face.

"I've never really had friends that are girls before you and I only have a little brother. What about you? What’s your excuse?"

Sakura sighed softly,

"I don't really have a lot of friends, and I'm not all that close to most of them.

I do have a best friend but he went out of state for college and he doesn't come back home all that often. Also, we usually talk through text or phone calls or Skype. And if there's something romantic in our lives, we like to talk to each other in person.

I'm not that close to my sister with our age gap and Mama's usually too busy."

"Oh… Well let's change that. I'm your friend now so we can talk about romance, boys, or anything we want."

Julchen smiled when she saw that Sakura nodded her head.

"So I'm going to start. I have some really important advice for you. Don't fall in love with Al. He doesn't believe in love and he's left a long line of broken hearts behind him because of that."

"I thought that might be the case. He seems like type. I'll do my best not to but unfortunately he may be my type. I hope not but it's possible," murmured Sakura.

"You have a type? If that's the case you tell me about yours and I'll tell you about mine."

Julchen and Sakura had never realized what it was like to have a girl to talk to. It was surprisingly nice. Both girls might have guy best friends but they had easily become a close friend to each other.

* * *

"Gather round people. I need to tell you the plan for the day.

Today we'll be splitting up into two teams and hike to this point on the map.

The team that get there first will get to relax while the losing team will have to set up camp and cook dinner. I may decide to be nice and just have the losing team cook but we'll see.

Now choose your teams and be quick about it."

* * *

Matthias felt no surprise with the teams that had been created. The minute Julchen and Al had been picked as team captains, it became obvious to him at least that this was the way the teams would turn out.

Julchen and Al had a long standing competition which Julchen was winning by one point.

Al would have chosen Matthias but Julchen got to him first. So Al chose Marianne because he knew it would irritate Julchen.

Julchen retaliated by choosing Sakura who looked a bit surprised but pleased at being picked.

Matthias gave Sakura a one armed hug to welcome her to their team but let go quickly when he saw Al glare at him. Al had a pretty scary glare.

Julchen acted like she didn't notice but Matthias saw her narrowed eyes and clenched fist.

She obviously didn't trust Al with Sakura. However, she just gave Sakura a big hug and stuck her tongue out at Al.

Sakura was a bit uncomfortable because she wasn't used to so much physical contact but she chose to laugh at Julchen's antics with Al and Matthias.

Al and Matthias both realized that whatever Julchen and Sakura had talked about the night before had caused them to become friends.

They both silently promised themselves that they would do their best to make sure the new friendship lasted.

They didn't have much time to dwell on their thoughts because with the competition’s start Julchen and Al became bitter enemies determined to win against each other.

* * *

Al was confident that he would win this competition because Julchen had never been the best when it came to hiking.

Julchen had been born to be fast but this was a test of endurance more than anything and Al was the best in the trio at endurance challenges.

Julchen was good at this stuff but not as good as Al. After all, Al's mother would take him camping often when she was still alive. Those trips gave him a lot of practice with these woods.

"Al, do wait up. I would like to walk with you."

Al turned around to see Marianne with a flirtatious smile on her face that made Al smirk back.

"Of course. Anything for a beautiful flower like you."

Al just knew that his papa would be so proud of him and Arthur would probably complain about how Al was turning out to be just like his father.

"Oh dear."

Marianne stumbled making Al stop to help her.

She held her ankle but was still standing without favoring one foot over the other.

"My ankle. It hurts. I must have sprained it when I tripped."

Al knew, and Marianne probably knew that he knew, that she was faking it so they could flirt some more.

"Let me take a look at it."

Marianne sat down on a ledge and removed her shoe.

"Do be a dear, Al and massage my foot."

"Anything for you sweet Marianne."

Al was massaging Marianne’s _injured_ foot, when he noticed Sakura up ahead. Al's eyes narrowed.

It seemed that Sakura was better at more than just setting up camp when it came to the outdoors.

At the rate Sakura was moving, she would probably beat him and Julchen would have a two point lead over him.

That was not allowed to happen. If it did, he might as well consider the competition done and over with. He did not want to lose something he should be able to win.

Al immediately jumped up and ran after Sakura.

He could hear Marianne calling out his name from behind him but he couldn't care. This competition was way too important to have a loss caused by a nerd like Sakura.

Al yelled out,

"Hey Sakura! Wait up."

Sakura glanced back at him but she had this look in her eyes told him that she was not going to stop. She obviously wanted to win this competition as much as he did.

He ran after her until he finally caught up with her about 10 feet away from the goal.

He grabbed her shoulder which made her turn around and face him.

"What do you want Al? Please release me."

"Look, can we just agree on a truce and rest for a little bit? After we both catch our breaths, how about we race to the point and the faster runner wins?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him,

"Why should I trust you? I know that you only want to win. Julchen told about your competition with her so don't think I don't know how desperate you are."

Al was surprised that Julchen trusted Sakura enough to tell her about the competition. Julia Belischmidt was notorious for not trusting people easily. Especially not when the last time she trusted a girl, she had her heart broken.

It was interesting to see how quickly Sakura had found her niche in their little trio. She got along with Matthias, Al liked her well enough, and Julchen had taken Sakura under her wing and honestly Al didn't mind as much he thought he would.

"Come on. It'll be fine so let's just sit down for a bit. We'll race for the win and we'll have fun with it."

Sakura still looked doubtful but she let Al lead her to a rock that was big enough for the both of them to sit on comfortably.

Al looked at Sakura carefully and tried to figure her out. However, he got started thinking about her height.

She was at least a head shorter than him but when sitting down, she could rest her head on his shoulder if she really wanted to.

"So, why'd ya come on this trip? It doesn't seem like something you would do."

The fact that someone like Sakura wanted to come on this trip made Al curious.

What was even more interesting was Sakura's reaction to his question. Her eyes seemed to lose some of their brightness that they had developed during the trip so far.

"I love my family but everything I've done has been for them. I decided that I should try doing something for myself so I joined this trip. I'm glad I did because Julchen is a friend I would never had the chance to become friends with this adventure."

Al was surprised. Sakura had always been quiet when they were in high school. All of her friends were involved in the same things as her.

She had been part of the newspaper staff and even ran the paper her senior year. That was honestly one of the few things he could remember about her.

"I never knew you felt that way. I mean you've always seemed like the kind of person who was satisfied with what you did and with life in general. I always thought you liked having a simple life."

She gave a small laugh.

"That's because my mother taught my siblings and me that showing your emotions is a dangerous thing and it's better to conceal them. No one really ever saw them. Not even my family or closest friends, so it's no surprise you couldn't tell either."

"That actually explains a lot. Everyone just thought that you had lost the ability to feel because you would never show your emotions but Julchen always said that your stoicism was just a mask. That you were protecting yourself from the world with it."

"She was right. Now can you go back to flirting with that girl?"

"What's your problem with Marianne?"

"She's only good for flirting with. She has no substance. Or she acts like she doesn't."

Al looked at Sakura carefully before saying,

"Well it's not like she can be a girl like you."

Sakura looked indignant,

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He smiled at her softly.

"There are different kinds of girls out there. Marianne's the kind you flirt with but you're not. You're the kind that a person falls in love with."

Sakura was quiet as she thought about what he had said. No one had ever said something like that to her.

Before her embarrassment could show, she whispered,

"Can we just finish the competition now?"

"Okay. Good luck beating me."

He quickly made his escape and wasn't surprised with the aftermath. Al felt a bit bad about what he had just done but his desire to win was stronger than any guilty feelings.

Sakura tried to run after him when she fell. Al had tied her legs together. And while it was an easy knot to remove, there was no way for her to beat Al.

"You cheater!"

Al started walking backwards and smiled at her.

"We're not in school anymore Sakura. The whole world cheats so deal with it."

Julchen's team was in charge of dinner that night.

* * *

Julchen had noticed that Sakura was still upset about what had happened last night.

In fact, her mood had gotten worse. Giving Sakura some space to calm down had obviously been a bad idea. A really bad one.

It wasn't all that noticeable but Julchen realized that Sakura was the type to retreat into herself if she was upset. And that was exactly what the smaller woman had done.

Last night she refused to talk to Al and if given the chance, she avoided him and the rest of his team altogether.

This morning, Sakura refused to talk at all.

It worried Julchen to say the least. Julchen considered Sakura a friend and with Sakura refusing to talk, it was like high school all over again. They were just two girls who ran in different circles.

Every time Julchen tried to corner Sakura, Sakura would escape because another member of the trip would need help and Sakura had become the go to person for this portion of the trip.

Julchen was going to kill Al. She just knew that he had something to do with Sakura refusing to talk to her.

Sakura was the only friend of Julchen's that was a girl and she refused to lose her friendship with Sakura because of an idiotic boy. Even if that idiotic boy was one of her best friends.

Julchen waited until Sakura got on the bus so that she could sit next to her.

Sakura had chosen a window seat in the middle of the bus.

While Julchen was normally a back of the bus kind of gal, she sacrificed her norm sot that she could talk to Sakura.

Sakura was definitely surprised but her reaction was nothing compared to how Matthias and Al reacted.

The boys froze and their mouths fell open seeing Julchen willingly sit next to another girl.

Julchen smirked at them.

"Close your mouth boys. You might catch flies."

Matthias recovered faster than Al (which was rare) and pushed Al to make him move.

Al got over his shock but the look in his eyes made it clear to Julchen that she’d have to suffer an interrogation later.

"Why did you sit here instead of with your friends?"

Julchen was surprised that Sakura was the one to say something first but whatever. What mattered to Julchen was that Sakura talked to her.

"I _am_ sitting with a friend. Now, you're going to tell me what stupid thing Al did. It obviously made you upset."

"It was nothing."

"I don't believe you."

Julchen really didn't. Sakura was the type of person to lie if it meant not having to talk about her thoughts.

"You and Al were the first ones to get to the goal after Jett and Al obviously won because our team was the one that had to cook dinner. Something had to have happened before that or else you wouldn't have been so upset about losing."

Sakura paused but her trust in Julchen was strong enough for her to tell the truth.

"He tricked me. No one has ever been able to trick me before, and trust me when I say that a lot of people have tried. Mama almost made me her heir because of that before she decided on my younger brother."

Even though Sakura had shared part of the problem, Julchen could tell that there was more that was upsetting Sakura.

"Is that what you're really angry about?"

"No… I think what makes me really angry is that for a moment I thought he actually considered me as a friend. Of course I was just deluding myself."

Julchen hugged Sakura.

"I'm definitely your friend and I totally care. After all, if the awesomeness that is me approves of you then you've got to be awesome."

Sakura froze in shock before saying,

"You took my hug virginity. Take responsibility."

Julchen was about to apologize when she saw that Sakura's shoulders were shaking in amusement. Julchen let out a laugh which caused Sakura to giggle and they both laughed at each other for several minutes.

* * *

Matthias had been watching Julchen and Sakura for a while and it just didn't make sense.

"I don't understand."

"There are a lot of things you don't understand. You'll have to be more specific."

Al didn't even bother to look up from his book.

"Really? That's what you have to say."

"Yep."

Matthias rolled his eyes,

"Of course that's what you'd say. I was talking about the fact that Julchen is getting along with a person who's the same gender as her and they might even be becoming that sister from another mister thing Julchen mentioned once."

That definitely got Al's attention. He even put down his book to look at where Julchen was sitting with Sakura.

Julchen's laugh was audible and from of the looks of it, Sakura was laughing as well.

Al rubbed his eyes to make sure it was actually there and Matthias nodded his head.

"That's exactly how I felt when I first noticed them. It's kind of hard to believe but it's actually happening. Julchen has female friend that won’t destroy their friendship over a guy."

"I never thought that Julchen would ever find anything in common with Sakura of all people but it makes sense if we think about it. Matthias, do you remember how Sakura never really spent time with people outside the newspaper?"

Matthias made a sound of acknowledgement,

"Yeah, I remember. She didn't talk much and I remember the newspaper guys being really protective of her."

"Well, doesn't that mean that Sakura's never really had friends that were girls? Because if I remember correctly, Sakura was the only girl on the newspaper staff by senior year."

"Which means that she's probably just as awkward around other girls as Julchen. Al, that's either pretty stupid or genius. The two of them must get along because of that."

Of course if Julchen knew what they were thinking she would have beat them up for thinking that Sakura was her friend just because they were awkward around other girls.

* * *

"So Luddy found himself trapped up in the treehouse because he had forgotten how to climb down. The whole thing was made even funnier due to the fact that the treehouse had a rope ladder inside to help if something like that would happen. Opa had to go up there and show him the ropes. Literally."

Julchen's storytelling was making Sakura laugh because honestly, it sounded like something that her family would do as well.

A thought occurred to Sakura,

"Is Luddy short for Ludwig? Because then I think I might know him. Ludwig was on the newspaper staff in my senior year as a freshman reporter."

Julchen's eyes widened,

"Oh yeah. Luddy raved about you all the time and would always complain about how your second in command was such a lazy ass."

Sakura let out a little laugh,

"Yes. Feli has never liked working hard but he does a good job when he puts his mind to it. I knew what I was doing when I chose him to take over after I graduated. And it made it easier because Feli was the chief for two years before he graduated. Did you know that Ludwig and Feli are dating and have been since Feli's junior and Ludwig’s sophomore year?"

Julchen quickly sobered up,

"I… I didn't know. I mean I knew Luddy was gay but I had no idea he’s had a boyfriend for so long. Ludwig didn't tell me. I guess he was worried I would tease him too much or something."

Sakura felt really bad but before she could apologize, Julchen forced a grin onto her face.

"I guess that's what I get for being a brat when I was younger. Opa always said that I was an idiot for acting out so much when I was younger."

"If it makes you feel better, the only reason why I know that my little brother Leon is dating his boyfriend Emil, is because I accidentally walked in on them making out when they were supposed to be working on a project."

"Not really but I guess I understand. Your family doesn't really tell you much about their lives either. It seems like we have a lot in common when it comes to our family issues."

Sakura and Julchen shared a wry smile. Seems like the girl who became a rebel and the girl who became an otaku had a lot in common when it came to the root cause. They were both girls who felt like outsiders in their own families and homes.

* * *

"I'm beat. It'll be nice to sleep in a proper bed again. Even if it is a hotel bed."

Al stretched his arms far above his head before turning to look around the room he was going to share with his group.

Matthias had already laid himself out on the bed that Al would be sharing with him.

Julchen and Sakura were already unpacking things and seemed to be discussing something about some TV show that they both had enjoyed.

"Hey Sakura, since when were you so close to Julchen?"

Sakura glanced at Al before whispering something to Julchen and leaving the room.

Julchen sighed while Matthias was surprised that Sakura, who was one of the nicest people he had ever met, was rude to Al.

Al felt irritated. Sakura had no good reason to hold a grudge for what had happened earlier. It was just life. People cheat a lot, so why was she still mad.

"Al, I think you should go talk to her. She’s in the lobby studying right now."

Al turned his eyes towards Julchen who had an unusually serious look on her face.

"Why should I? She's the one who needs to get over herself."

"Alfred Francis Jones, go talk to her. She feels horrible because of what you did so you better talk to her and actually figure out why.

I don't want my first girl friend to hate one of my best friends just because my best friend couldn't understand where she was coming from."

"Fine but if this doesn't work then I'm not going bother anymore."

Al spun around and he made sure to slam the door on his way out.

"Damn Julchen. You sure this is a good idea. Al seems pretty pissed off and Sakura still seems upset with him."

"They need to talk to each other. Al might get Sakura to open up about what's really bothering her and Sakura might teach Al that not all girls get upset because of petty reasons."

* * *

Al really didn't want to do this.

Sakura had already shown that she didn't like him so there was no reason why he should try to make her feel better.

However… Julchen really liked Sakura and Al owed her enough that he had to try to make this work. Even if it was only for one of the best friends he would ever have.

When Al entered the lobby, Sakura really was in a corner studying. It seemed like she was always studying during their free time.

"What are you studying so intently?"

Al had to smirk at the way Sakura jumped in surprise. It was actually kind of cute now that he thought about it.

Sakura's eyes narrowed at him. She was obviously suspicious of his reasoning in actually asking her what she was studying.

"I don't see how it matters to you. It's not like you care."

Al growled,

"What's your problem? You can't still be mad about the whole tying your legs together so that I could win thing. Do you just not like me? Is that why you always seem upset when I'm in the room?"

Sakura shook her head,

"That's not it."

"Then why? You obviously don't like me for some reason and I don't know what I did to upset you."

Sakura was obviously distressed with his questioning.

"You wouldn't understand."

"What wouldn't I understand?" asked Al softly.

The kindness in his voice caused Sakura to explode.

" _What it means to be an outcast!?_ You're so lucky that you have a set of best friends and all three of you find it so easy to get along with people. And even if you don't, you have each other. You've never had to deal with feeling like you're an outsider with anyone. You have people you can talk to. You’re allowed to show your emotions and you're not afraid to either. You know what life's like even when you can still have all the fun in the world. Well I'm not like that. Day in and day out I work hard just to be that perfect daughter and sister. I always act the way my mother and siblings expect and I don't ever really show them who I am. My own mother pushed me to inherit her business and I might have if my younger brother hadn't said that he wanted to take over and he proved that he would be good at it. It's unfair and I don't expect someone like you to understand. After all, what do you have to deal with? You can live your life how you want and you probably even have a dream that you know you'll achieve without major interference from your family."

Sakura was breathing heavily by that point.

Al raised an eyebrow,

"Feel better?"

She gave him a small embarrassed smile,

"Yes. Thank you for pushing me. I needed to let it out."

Al laughed,

"Yeah, no kidding. If you held it in any longer, you would have combusted," he held out a hand, "Come on. We should get back before Julchen sends an army after us."

Sakura took his hand and Al felt a jolt go through him. Her hand was so small just like the rest of her. He'd have to be more careful. Sakura was not someone he wanted to fall in love with. She deserved much better than him.

While he was trying to convince himself of this, he still didn't let go of Sakura's hand.

* * *

"Never again. No is going to make me visit Death Valley ever again."

"Whatever you say Matthias. We both know the only reason you're saying this is because your Nordic blood can't take the heat."

"It's not like you can take the heat either. Hell, you can't stand the cold at all and you don't like the heat."

"I can still take it better than you."

Julchen rolled her eyes at Al and Matthias. This was so typical of them.

" _Boys._ Come on Sakura, let's leave these two losers alone. We can enjoy Vegas without them."

Sakura nodded,

"They must have enjoyed Death Valley a lot if they're still talking about it instead of Las Vegas."

Matthias and Al looked on in shock as they watched Julchen and Sakura walk away.

"I had no idea that Sakura had so much sass."

"Neither did I, Matthias, neither did I."

* * *

Sakura realized that the first time since her father's death and Leon's birth, she was responsible for no one but herself. It was a liberating feeling.

However there was still a dark cloud hanging over her thoughts. Sakura realized that she had probably fallen in love with Al and she was going to get her heart broken.

Julchen probably suspected something but probably wouldn't say anything because she understood that Sakura was stronger than a heartbreak and that Sakura would move on from it.

Julchen and Sakura had reached the lobby in their quest to explore the hotel when Sakura suddenly froze.

Julchen looked at her friend and noticed that Sakura was looking at something in shock. Following Sakura's line of sight, Julchen was greeted with the stuff of nightmares.

Standing in the lobby, in full dragoness glory, was Chun-Yan Wang. A woman who was also Sakura's mother.

Julchen hissed,

"Sakura, what the hell is your mother doing here? Shouldn't she be in SF right now?"

Sakura was slowly recovering from the shock though she was still having trouble thinking.

"Yes. I don't understand why she's here unless she wants me to come home. I should go see what she wants."

Sakura felt cold all over. It looked like her trip was going to be cut short.

Her mother would definitely want her to come home and Sakura would have no option but to obey.

She steeled herself and walked towards her mother who was standing in front of the fountain in the lobby.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Al and Matthias had joined Julchen in spying on the mother and daughter.

To an untrained eye, it would seem like Sakura was calm but Chun-Yan was her mother and knew better.

"Hello daughter. Have you been enjoying your trip so far?"

Sakura nodded cautiously which prompted Chun-Yan to continue talking.

"Did you know that Leon's father and I met in Las Vegas while he was in denial about being gay? I'll have to introduce you to the man sometime. After all, he almost became your stepfather. Next time Leon visits the man, you should go with him."

Sakura stared at her mother. She had expected her mother to be enraged that her eldest child, the one she had raised to be the most responsible, had been reckless.

She had not expected to be told about one of the former men in her mother's life. Especially not the things about the first man Chun-Yan had a sort of relationship with after Sakura's father had died.

Noticing the look on Sakura's face, Chun-Yan smiled. The dragoness had confused another one with her brood in the past few weeks. She had forgotten how much fun it was to mess with people like that.

"I seem to have gotten really good at shocking my children lately. I will allow you to finish this trip but we will be discussing what I expect of you from now on. Are we in agreement?"

Sakura nodded her head in agreement. While she was surprised her mother was letting her stay with her friends, it was a relief that the worst that would happen was a talk about the new expectations coming from this… event.

"I agree to your terms but there is something bothering me. If you're not here to make me go home, then why are you here?"

Their relationship had always been very business-like after Sakura had graduated high school.

Chun-Yan gave her daughter a sincere smile which was a rare occurrence with Chun-Yan.

"Its moments like this that makes me wish you wanted to take over the business but then I remember Leon wants the company and he's able to be ruthless unlike you. He's a much better choice as my heir. Yong-Soo and Mei have time to decide what they want to do since they're still in high school."

"You're stalling. Answer the question."

Sakura's frustration was evident. It was just like her mother to take her own sweet time to do anything.

"Since when were you so impatient. Calm down and let me finish. I came to give you something. It was originally going to be a present for your entrance to the program you wanted but I decided to give it to you now. After all, I can consider you an adult."

Sakura had to wonder what her mother meant by her last few words but she quietly took the rectangular box from her mother. She put it on the floor and gave Chun-Yan a hug.

"Thank you Mama. Thank you for… for everything."

Chun-Yan, after recovering from the shock that her restrained daughter actually hugged her, she hugged back.

"You're welcome, my little cherry blossom. Wait to open the box until you get back to your room. I need to leave now but remember that I love you even if I don't always show it."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us?"

"Thank you for offering Julchen but I have things I want to do tonight. I'm probably going to do my laundry and catch up on my studying."

"Well you have to come out with me tomorrow night."

"Of course I will. Vegas won't know what hit it when the two of us go out together."

Sakura went down to the Laundromat in the hotel’s basement.

Julchen, on the other hand, went to the hotel's game room to meet with Al and Matthias before their night out.

Al and Matthias looked up from their game of chess when she entered the room.

Al was paying more attention to Sakura then Julchen had originally thought because he asked Julchen,

"Is Sakura not coming with us?"

"No. She's going to stay here tonight to catch up on some stuff… though she is coming with us tomorrow."

Al finished the game with Matthias by putting his friend in checkmate and made his way past Julchen.

Matthias leaned his chair back so that he could see where Al was heading.

"Where're you going? We're going to leave soon. Remember?"

Al turned to face his friends but kept walking.

"I'm going to talk to Sakura to see if I can convince her to come with us. If she's going to be one of our friends, we should try to include her as much as possible."

Al quickly walked out before either Julchen or Matthias could say anything.

He made his way where Sakura would be if she was actually doing laundry.

He knew Sakura well enough to realize that if she said she was going to do something, she probably was doing that thing.

He eventually found her sequestered in the farthest corner from the door but before he could let her know he was there, she took out the new laptop her mother had given her. The unmistakable sound of a Skype call emanating from it.

Sakura's face lit up and she picked up the call from whoever it was. She must not have noticed Al at all.

"Hey Feli. How are you?"

The voice that answered was definitely male even if it was slightly higher than the usual male voice.

"I am so wonderful. It's so good to see your face again. And what's this? You're not in your room for once. Did you finally get a laptop? By the way, I'll be back in San Francisco next month. I can't wait to hug you and watch movies with you again."

The look on Sakura's face was best described as fond. Whoever this was, he was important to her.

This must have been why Sakura didn't want to come with them tonight. She probably knew her boyfriend was going to call and she wanted to talk to him in private.

And with that misunderstanding, Al left to go find Julchen and Matthias so that they could enjoy a night out in the city.

No one would ever know the mistake Al had made except Sakura. But that's a different story.

**End Part 3**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So we finish up the trip and things don't end very well for quite frankly anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um so I haven't updated this fic in almost 2 years and I've had this chapter finished sometime back then but only just finished editing it. A lot of it is because I've fallen out of the Hetalia fandom in a way and don't write for it all that much. I'll still probably continue to post a few things but over all this is probably my last fic for the fandom. There's one chapter left which I've had outlined for some time. No guarantees when it'll be done but I will finish this fic. And who knows I may still write more Hetalia at some point.

During the day, Julchen and Sakura had gone on a shopping spree. Al and Matthias wondered how exactly they planned to take all their new stuff before getting laughed at.

It turned out, Sakura’s mother was still in town and had agreed to take the purchases back with her.

When night hit, the trio of awesome best friends decided to teach Sakura how to play poker.

That was their biggest mistake. Sakura turned out be a natural at the game and totally cleaned all three of them out.

Matthias could only gape and Julchen was irritated with the fact that a certain four-eyed blond would not stop laughing.

Al had been quiet the night before but tonight he was being plain annoying.

“Al, shut the fuck up before I punch you.”

Julchen growled. She then mumbled.

“I don’t care that Al’s one of my best friends. He is going to die if he doesn’t stop laughing.”

Sakura looked at Julchen with a sheepish expression on her face. Sakura was slightly sorry but not too sorry because she was still getting money after all.

“You know what. I’m done with this. I refuse to play this game anymore. I am so done with all of you.”

Alfred and Matthias intoned,

“For now.”

Julchen rolled her eyes and got up to go to the bar. She really needed a drink right about now and the sooner the better.

Julchen never did get a drink that night.

Halfway to the bar Julchen saw a kid who looked a bit like Ludwig, her little brother. The kid looked upset for some reason.

Curiosity overcame Julchen and she walked over there to see what was going on.

The kid was surrounded by a group of men and it looked like they had been gambling.

“Well kid, you gonna give up now or are you gonna keep playing.”

“Please leave me alone. Haven’t you people had enough? I have no money left.”

The ringleader grinned as he leaned into the kid’s face.

“Aww. Is the little boy going to cry? Maybe if you keep playing, you’ll be able to earn your money back.”

Julchen had heard enough. She cursed Al for instilling a feel for heroics in her as she walked up behind the ringleader and tapped him on the shoulder.

The man turned around ready to punch the person who’d interrupted his fun but relaxed when he saw Julchen.

Ringleader man leered at Julchen who smiled and then punched him. The punch knocked him to the floor and kept him there.

Julchen had a frosty look on her face.

“I didn’t realize that cheaters were allowed to gamble in this casino.”

The ringleader’s face was stormy as the rest of his group helped him up.

“The fuck did you say to me? I ain’t no cheater.”

“Sure looks like you’re one to me. After all, only a cheater would target a kid to get all his money.”

Sakura had noticed something was wrong and had come over to where the altercation was taking place.

 “Julchen, is everything okay?”

The man’s sneer grew as he looked at the petite girl in front of him. Just what he needed.

“Well doll, your friend here went and called me a cheater and that’s just plain rude. Now normally I don’t hit women but I’m willing to make the exception. Self-righteous bitches like the two of you need to be put in their place.”

Julchen almost charged at the man but Sakura stopped her.

Sakura moved in front of Julchen. She took a deep breath and channeled her mother when she said her next words.

“I can see why she would think so. In fact, you’re not only a cheater but a coward as well. You’re also a bastard who feels the need to beat up people just because they disagreed with you.”

The man snapped and charged at Sakura.

Sakura moved to the side at the last second and tripped him. She then grabbed Julchen and ran.

Al and Matthias were already outside waiting for them when they saw Sakura and Julchen running towards them with group of angry men following them.

Sakura yelled.

“Don’t just stand there! Run!”

The four of them ran like crazy when Matthias noticed a restaurant up ahead.

“Let’s go in there.”

They entered the restaurant just barely managing to avoid their pursuers.

Al went and ordered for them while the other three found a table to sit at.

As soon as Al came back, the interrogation started.

“So why were those guys chasing us?” Matthias put his elbows on the table and leaned forward in anticipation. Whatever had caused that chase was bound to be interesting after all.

Sakura looked away, unused to being the center of attention, but Julchen, who loved the spotlight, launched herself into the story.

“Okay so first of all this is all Al’s fault.”

“Hey! I wasn’t even there.”

“So what? Your hero complex is what set off the whole situation. If you hadn’t infected me with your sense of justice, we’d probably still be at that casino.”

“Oh man. He’s rubbed off on you too.”

“Shut up Matt. It’s still not my fault.”

Al was pouting. His friends always gave him shit for his hero complex.

Sakura on the other hand was showing no emotion on her face but her voice gave away her exhaustion. “Um… Hey guys, I think Julchen was trying to tell you two what happened.”

“Thanks Sakura. If these two idiots keep talking, I’d never finish the story.”

“Hey!” Both Matthias and Al sounded offended but Julchen ignored them.

“As I was saying, there was this group of guys picking on this kid so I go up and get the ringleader’s attention.”

“Well that was stupid.”

“Matthias. Did I ask you? The answer is no. Anyways, I got his attention, he was being douche, so I punched him.”

Al was grinning. He hated bullies so he was glad that Julchen had punched the guy. “Nice! I hope you knocked him flat. You do have the best right hook. Definitely better than Matt’s.”

“Hey!” Matthias had to wonder why he was even friends with Al and Julchen.

Sakura decided to take over and continue the story before things got out of hand… again.

“I noticed something was going on so I walked over to Julchen. Just as I got there, she was accusing the man of cheating.”

“Sakura was awesome. The guy told her what I said and she just looked at him and said something about how he was not only a cheater but a coward as well.”

Matthias and Al looked awestruck and Sakura blushed. Julchen’s signature shit eating grin grew bigger.

“The guy got so mad. He charged at us and Sakura grabbed my arm and moved me out of the way. She’s surprisingly strong for such a small person. She tripped him and his momentum caused him to all flat on his face. We weren’t going to wait for him to get up so we ran and you know the rest.”

Matthias let out a low whistle. “Damn Sakura. You’re amazing. Why weren’t we friends with you back in high school?”

Sakura’s blush grew and she gave him a small smile.

“Not my fault that you were too busy being loud to notice me.”

All of them laughed at that and Al felt his respect for Sakura grow. She was amazing and it was a pity he hadn’t known that before.

* * *

 

Las Vegas had been a lot of fun but there had been something breathtaking about the Grand Canyon. Everyone had fun exploring different parts of the landmark throughout the week. On the last night there, a man named Ivan and his sisters invited them to a party.

Al, Julchen, and Matthias were excited to go, but Sakura was refusing to go.

“I’m not sure I want to do this. Can I just stay here?”

Al shook his head.

“No way! You have to come to this party with us. I promise that it won’t be that bad. Trust me Sakura.”

Sakura sighed.

“If I don’t have fun, you guys have to bring me back to the hotel.”

The trio looked at each other before agreeing with Sakura.

“Deal!”

Sakura tried to have fun but seeing Alfred dance with Ivan’s little sister, Natalia, soured her mood. She asked Julchen to take her back to the hotel and that was the end of it. It wasn’t like anyone else would notice she was gone either.

* * *

 

Matthias turned around to look at his friends.

“Can you believe how haunted Santa Fe is? It’s so cool.”

Alfred and Julchen rolled their eyes. Matthias was a huge fan of ghost stories and it got a bit annoying after a while.

Sakura quietly said,

“Mama always says it’s unwise to speak of spirits that aren’t at rest. She always said that talking about them would anger them and cause them to curse you and your family.”

Matthias gulped and fell silent. He had enough bad luck as it was.

Julchen and Al were just thankful that he wasn’t going to keep talking about ghosts.

Jett, the tour guide, knew quite a bit about Santa Fe and had taken them on a tour of some of the haunted sites.

The last stop on the tour was the hotel they were spending the night in.

“This hotel is said to be built over the grave of two lovers whose forbidden romance got them killed. People claim that some nights you can see the two lovers dancing on the terrace. Due to all the accidents that have happened up there, the terrace is closed so you can’t visit it.”

Alfred took that as a challenge and that night he was sneaking up there when he heard a noise behind him.

He was just about to turn around and attack his follower, when they jumped on his back.

“Boo!”

Alfred screamed and ran the rest of the way up the stairs to the terrace with his attacker on his back.

As soon as he reached the terrace, he found out who had attacked him.

 “Julchen was right. You really are afraid of ghosts.” Sakura got off his back and laughed. She then smiled giving him a silent apology.

Alfred gaped.

“Sakura! What are you doing here?”

Sakura shrugged.

“I was planning on coming up to the terrace to look at the full moon tonight. I saw you and thought I’d see if I could scare you.”

“Well it worked! I need a drink.”

Sakura laughed again took out a flask and handed it to Alfred.

“Here have some sake.”

Alfred stared at Sakura for a moment before taking a swig of the liquid. He handed it back to her and she took a sip as well.

“I didn’t know you drank. You don’t seem like the type to.” Alfred took back the offered flask.

“I don’t drink often and usually only my family is around when I do. You might be the first guy I’ve shared a drink with.” Sakura had sat down cross legged and Alfred joined her.

Alfred gave Sakura a look.

“You’ve never shared a drink with your boyfriend.”

Sakura was bemused.

“I don’t have a boyfriend. What are you talking about?”

It was Alfred’s turn to shrug.

“That first night in Vegas. Your boyfriend and you had a Skype call together. I think his name was Feli or something.”

Sakura stared. No one had ever assumed that she was dating Feli before.

“Feli is one of my best friends. Practically a brother. He lives in New York currently. The call was to tell me that he’s going to be in San Francisco for his sister’s wedding next month. I’m also planning on going to med school in NYC so we’re considering getting an apartment together.”

Alfred felt sheepish.

“I guess I jumped to incorrect conclusions. It’s amazing that you want to go to med school but damn do I feel like such an idiot. Its times like this that makes me doubt that I’m going to fulfill my dream of traveling the entire world.”

Sakura’s surprise at learning his dream was hidden but a part of her wasn’t surprised at all. Alfred was just the kind of person with big dreams. She smiled as he talked about all the places he wanted to visit.

It was in that moment that Sakura realized two things. One, she was in love with Alfred and two, she could never tell him because his dreams were too important for him to give up for someone like her.

* * *

 

“Look out!”

Sakura tried to keep from laughing at Marianne whose hair was the victim of the snowball Sakura had thrown.

Of course she didn’t have much time to enjoy the moment because Matthias threw a snowball at her that she needed to dodge.

* * *

The group had been told the night before on the bus that they would be going to celebrate Holi with some other tour groups and the trio of friends didn’t know what to expect but Sakura did.

Her godfather was Indian and had taken her family to celebrate a few times and it was always a lot of fun.

When Julchen woke up that morning, Sakura had already left the bus and Julchen was quick to wake up Alfred and Matthias to help her to find her.

“Okay so Sakura wasn’t in the bus this morning so she has to be around here somewhere.”

They had just stepped out of the bus when they were attacked by Sakura with a water hose.

Matthias yelled,

“What are you doing?”

Sakura grinned,

“Introducing you to the joys of Holi.”

Alfred, Julchen, and Matthias stared for a moment before exchanging a look and running to join in.

By the end of the day, all four of them were soaked to the bone and very colorful.

Sakura knew that a change of clothes would be required and had already grabbed clothes for Julchen and herself.

Matthias returned to the bus to grab extra clothes for Alfred and himself. He was looking through Alfred’s bag when he found the letter.

Matthias normally wouldn’t read his friends’ mail but when the envelope’s return address is in France, his curiosity was stronger than his need to protect his friends’ privacy.

Alfred and Sakura had been joking around and talking. Alfred felt so much wonder looking at Sakura and Sakura was just about to confess to Alfred, when Matthias came up to them.

“Al, what the hell is this?”

Matthias slapped the envelope on Alfred’s chest and Alfred’s face turned stormy.

“You read my mail.”

“It’s a good thing I did. Were you ever going to tell us?”

Julchen came up behind the two of them.

“What’s going on?”

Alfred was about to explain when Matthias exploded.

“He’s been offered a job in France and he had no intention of ever telling us.”

“That’s a lie. I was going to tell you guys tomorrow on our way back to SF.”

Matthias just rolled his eyes and stomped off.

Julchen looked at Alfred sadly.

“I wish you had told us earlier.”

Alfred tried to justify himself.

“I didn’t want to ruin this trip. If I told you guys before this, the trip would have been–”

Julchen cut Alfred off by raising her hand.

“Save it Al. Congrats on the job. I’m going to go find Matt now.”

As Julchen left, Alfred turned to Sakura with a pleading look. He didn’t want her to be mad at him as well.

Sakura, even though she felt her heart breaking, just smiled.

“I’m happy for you Alfred. You’re on your way to fulfilling your dream.”

The next day on the flight back to San Francisco, no one really talked much. Maybe they should have because that was the last time any of them saw Alfred for six years.

**End Part 4**

**Author's Note:**

> I can be found at [desikauwa](http://desikauwa.tumblr.com/) on tumblr.


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